Break the Cycle
by ComicsCorner
Summary: Ahsoka returns to her crew after the events of the Rebels season finale and decides she's through with fighting. She's more than ready to live out her days with her husband and crew far away from the Rebellion and Empire and does just that. But after years of peaceful living and building her own family something begins to call out to her (Build up to the very final scene of rebels)


So, it appeared that everything had come full circle. The Imperial grip on Lothal had finally been released. The citizens made quick work to overwhelm the remaining forces on the ground. The Ghost and the Pulser crew mad fast efforts to return to their allies in order to gather supplies and equipment for the people It wouldn't be long until Senator Mothma would be speaking to the entire campaign.

"The people are going to need to need support to make sure those Storm Troopers." Reese spoke to Vincent who sat in the co-pilot seat. R9 was already attending to damaged systems aboard the ship.

"Good girl." Raelin patted the small droid's dome in admiration.

Ezen shivered for a moment as he stood between Reese and Vincent's seats. "I don't know about the rest of you but I'll be more than pleased to be on solid ground again." Jitokazza growled in agreement as her Wookie mate Ciirtatha comforted her. The whole crew seemed to be more than a little shaken after everything that had occurred. Thrawn and Ezra had gone to who knows where.

"Won't be too much longer," Vincent replied, beginning the landing sequence. "I'm hoping for a long vacation after this."

Reese chuckled to his oldest friend as the ship entered the atmosphere. "I'll be sure to buy you a good round once you're all settled on a nice beach somewhere."

"I'll take a nice relaxing tea." Realin giggled. Ezen shared the same feelings with his pink Mikkian comrade. Spontaneous tears filled her silver eyes. "We've come so far…and yet still have so much further to go." A massive victory had been won today. The entire liberation of a planet and its people, who couldn't take pride in that why couldn't the Pulser crew be more overjoyed? Could it be knowing that the war was far from over or perhaps because they didn't have their long-lost friend beside them anymore? It had been two years since Ahsoka's death and yet it felt like only days to most of them.

Vincent squeezed Raelins hand tightly to console her troubled heart. "We'll make it through."

The guilt Reese felt hadn't left him after all these years, he never should have brought his crew into this Rebellion, he only had because he was determined to stay by Ahsoka. But this war was far more trouble than it was worth, it had cost them their homes, their families and so much more. "Guys." Reese hesitated at first, considering if what he was about to say was even worth saying. "I think that maybe we should talk about walking away from the rebellion." No one said anything at first which made Reese feel uneasy.

A loss of words seemed to be a sickness amongst them all. Even R9 went as quiet as the dead. "Where is this coming from?" Vincent asked, finally breaking the silence.

"We all weren't that young when the Clone Wars broke out, but they had a powerful impact on us and our childhoods even if we all weren't on the same side, we still lost things and people in the fire so to speak. That war came and went and we did everything we possibly could, but in the end, no one won" Reese's feet shuffled nervously against the floor as he tried to explain. "The Empire is a chaotic force. Just like how the Republic was to the Separatists and vis versa."

Realin spoke up, realizing what her leader was presenting to them all. "No one triumphed in the Clone Wars, who's to say the same won't occur with the Rebels and the Empire?" Her body trembled at the thought.

"It's a deadly endless cycle." Vincent added, thinking back to the pain and suffering that both the Rebels and the Empire had caused, no side was

"You know I respect the Ghost and her crew…..but I look at Hera…how determined she is to bring the Empire down…..she's lost herself to the cause. It's consuming her and I-" His hands squeezed the controls of the ship in frustration. "I don't want to be like that. I'm through with the fighting, the secrets and the lives lost. I'm sick of it all." Reese lowered his raised voice and took a moment to catch his breath.

"But Ashoka-"

"Ezen, I can't help but feel that I only stayed with the Rebellion because I wanted a chance…any chance to get revenge for what happened to Soka. Revenge isn't a reason to fight for someone…..she taught me that. I don't want to die for Soka…I want to live for her…I want us all to live for her." The cockpit returned to its quiet. R9 cooed softly as she nudged against Reese's knee.

"It is often difficult for individuals to know when to stop fighting, but it's even harder for those to know when a fight is not worth fighting." Jitokazza roared in agreement.

Reese smiled brightly to the female Wookie warrior. "Right you are Jito." He hung his head. "I know it's insane to say something like this especially everything we've done together…but this war isn't us…it's, not ours." A sense of common ground came upon them all as the crew thought this through. Reese Ayleen had made an excellent point, they were all hesitant to join the Rebellion in the first place. The only reason that Reese had stayed after Ahsoka had helped him and his crew liberates their home and he followed her into the Rebellion after they were married. Those painful days on Orda had haunted them all and the rebellion had done nothing to help. "I've been lying to the rebellion, to all of you and worse…to Ahsoka. This isn't what she wanted for us."

Ciirtatha spoke gently to his crewmates. "I believe…..we all know what to do."

Reese was followed by the crew to the lowering boarding ramp to meet with the Ghost. "Once we set off again, we'll need to contact Bree and tell her that-" The Pulser captain stopped dead in his tracks. His entire body became numb, solid as stone. There was no way he could be dreaming. What he saw only mere feet away from where he was standing didn't feel as though it could be real. But yet how could he mistake such beauty?

"Have we undergone space madness?" Ezen asked in disbelief. Vincent sharply shook his head, not blinking a single eye. He had to help Reese stand upright before he collided with the boarding ramp.

"Ahsoka.." The silence in the cockpit seemed to have followed the Pulser crew to the outskirts of Lothal instead all the sound that was present was the soft motion of the tall yellow grasses that shuttered against the breeze.

"I know you all have questions." She began, slowly making her way toward the group. Her beautiful blue eyes shined in the setting sun. "And I do have much explaining to do I know." The weight in Reese's chest seemed to grow heavier and heavier with each step she took towards them until standing on his own feet no longer became possible and gravity pulled him down to the ramp. "I've seen things that would amaze you and-" He didn't care. All he wanted to do was hold her as tightly as he could and never let her go. He kissed her with a passion that had been bottled up inside of him for far too long. Tears stained the pairs faces as they embraced and the others soon followed.

"I missed you so much, Soka. I looked all over for you, but I couldn't-" His voice broke upon his words.

"I believe you." Ahsoka replied trying to calm her husband's heavy and rapid breathing.

"Hhh….how….how are you here?" Reese's entire voice shook. His hands rested on his loves beautiful face. "Where were you?" Ahsoka couldn't help but lean into his touch, how she had missed that.

"I was lost and I couldn't reach you…. I'm so sorry." Her entire being shook violently as if she may crumble to pieces. "I was lost, but a friend brought me back." She breathed Reese in as her face buried into the crook of his neck, she had missed the way he smelled. "I thought about you every day. I've missed you all so very much."

"We missed you too Soka." Soka, Ahsoka always loved that nickname.

Raelin quickly became impatient. "We thought you were dead."

"Worse we thought that Reese was gonna have to be in charge again permanently!" Vincent joked, whipping his eyes as they all rose back to their feet.

"Jedi certainly have a way of making an entrance." Ashoka laughed, scratching under the male Wookie's chin.

"I'm no longer a Jedi, Ciirtatha. I'm a friend and a wife."

"Ever feel sorry for trading that up?"

"Never Ezen." Reese hadn't let go of Ahsoka's hands even when she exchanged hellos to all of her beloved friends. There were no words for any of them to describe how much they missed one another. Reese's emotions were rattling around inside of him and refused to settle. He was mad at Ahsoka, mad that she hadn't tried to contact him or the crew once since she had disappeared, he was mad that she didn't try to get back to them. But in that anger, there was never any doubt that she loved him with all of her being. "There's something I need to tell you." She whispered into her husbands' ear, she pulled out of their embrace for a moment to look him in the eyes, her arms remained secure around his neck while his hooked on her waist.

"No, I need to tell you something first." Reese tried not to stumble over his words. "I wanted to leave the Rebellion. We all did. We have had enough, the fighting, the lies and everything in between. We've lost so much because of both sides. I stayed with them because of you and the others just followed suit. The others don't have to keep fighting, but I'll stay with you until the end if you choose to stay. I will never let you out of my sight. I'll never let you go ever again."

Ahsoka stared at him in such awe to his words. Even after all that had happened, he still showed his undying devotion to her. "Reese Ayleen." She sighed happily, tears forming again in her gorgeous blue eyes. "I'm through with fighting. This was never my war…was never our war." Her eyes fluttered when she turned to the others. "I never meant for any of you to follow me into this fight. But now…I think I see that this is something that I should have walked away from since the start. I don't regret the good we've done, not a single piece."

"The world has no right to ask any more of you." Reese said he beamed at her with such pride.

"It's not only that. It's that I deserve to be happy too…..We all do." She turned back to Reese, dead set on what she wanted. "I want to go back to Orda. I want to build our home, live out our days and….and raise our children there."

Reese was speechless. Ahsoka and Reese had put so much of their lives on hold because of the Rebellion and the Empire. Ahsoka had put her desires to live on hold to fight for the galaxy but felt a tremendous sense of incompleteness and loneliness in the fight. The time had long been overdue for her to stop running toward the conflict, the time had come for her turn away.

* * *

ORDA

Years had passed since the battle of Endor which the Pulser crew had never taken part in. They had all settled down on Orda, their original home planet working for the Ayleen family on their plantation and living in the villages and working daily in the fields. Ahsoka breathed in the fresh open air, taking in the stunning view of the orange-colored sky as the sun began to set over the horizon. She whipped the sweat from her brow then continued to her gathering work with Mrs. Ayleen and Reese's sister Bree. The harvest season was nearing its completion for the year and had been prosperous for the entire planet. "Gorgeous way to end the day," Bree said finally acknowledging the sunset. Ahsoka guessed that she and her people were more than a costume to it. It was times such as these that Ahsoka Tano was glad she gave up fighting for. Ahsoka smiled at the horizon when she saw the Pulser flying low for a landing. Vincent and Reese had just returned from transporting the harvest to their buyers on Solus. She wore a simple tan tunic stretching down to her knees with a tool belt hooked around her waist attached to a burgundy tribal sash. Her brown cargos held her commlink and a concealed blaster in case of predators. A red bandana acted as her headdress.

"Go on dear." Reese's mother Shayla smiled, knowing that her daughter in law would want to greet her son once he landed. "Bree and I will wrap up. Ahsoka thanked her in-laws set down her bushel and raced to the landing platform. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Realin curse very loudly in the distance. She made her way over to the barn where the farming equipment was kept. Lin was positioned underneath the plow, looking over the coupler with a few other workers.

"How's it looking?" Ahsoka asked, resting on her hands and knees to see Raelin's progress. The Mikkian whipped the sweat from her brow, removing the flashlight from her mouth in order to talk.

"We're going to need to replace the coupler." Raelin crawled out from under the monstrous machine. Veny, another worker took the tools she had in her hands while his son Mit moved the plow back with a few of his friends. "I'll talk to Jito, she has a supplier that could possibly cut us a deal." Lin graciously excepted the damp towel her friend handed to her. "I will not condone faulty equipment."

"Raelin Roo, have you finally found a piece of machinery that you can't fix?" Ahsoka laughed playfully, helping her friend back to her feet. The Mikkian secured the damp towel around her neck.

"Hey, I'll fix something and fix it and fix it until it can't be fixed anymore. Can't fix everything forever Tano." Ahsoka knew from experience that was all too true. Raelin and Vincent's son Kem came calling to his mother when the Puler had landed. Realin called back for him to contact the ground workers to begin unloading the ship. "Vince and Reese are back from Solus. Guess if everything went well we should get a drink."

"That sounds perfect. I'll meet you later alright?" Ashoka waved before she took back off for her first intended location. The Ayleen plantation was a farming and manufacturing supplier for the entire planet. The harvest season had been their main priority and with the assistance of over a hundred workers, the experience was all the more enjoyable. The minute Ahsoka reached the top of the platform she saw Reese waiting for her. Her heart raced almost as fast as she did to get into his hold.

"Welcome home." Ahsoka smiled embracing her husband tightly. Stroking his hair back from his eyes. "I'm happy you're back safe."

"Me too." Ayleen grinned through the short beard he was beginning to grow. "I miss you."

The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his upper arms so his tattoos were visible. Ahsoka noticed a new hole in his jacket, she'd sew that up for him later. "How did it go?"

A pleased grin came across his face as he showed her the data from his tablet. "We went above our quota for this year."

"That's amazing!" Ahsoka cried as she was spun in Reese's embrace. "We have to call the workers to celebrate." This was always a proud moment to celebrate every year. Drinking and good food with even better people by your side. One big family that worked, lived and broke bread together.

"Daddy!" A small voice cheered. Reese quickly turned to see a small child running from his house to greet him. She was wearing a long-sleeved blue nightdress with matching slippers. She ran as fast as her four-year-old legs could carry her.

"Hello there beautiful." He grinned, lifting her up into his arms and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I thought you were in bed Morai." Her voice sounded stern towards the little Torgruta hybrid. Morai's skin was faded shade of orange while her secondary montrals were a light purple. Her brown eyes were engulfed in white patches. Not all of her facial tattoos had come in yet, they soon would when she would get older.

"I wanted to wait for daddy to come home. I heard the Pulser's engines from my bedroom." Reese smiled in admiration for his little girls' abilities even the ones that he knew were buried deep inside of her…something that he and Ahsoka hoped would never come to the surface.

"You very silly girl." Morai giggled sweetly when her mother tickled under her chin. "Come here." The mother relinquished the small child from her husband and making ready to head back up to their house.

"If you go to bed early, I let you come with me on the Pulser to water the stock." That seemed like more than a fair enough deal to the girl who then didn't argue with her mother. "Goodnight princess." The sun had finished it's descent from the sky and had turned its orange radiant heavens above into a deep blue sea of stars. Ahsoka could sense the tiredness growing in her daughter.

"Tell me more about the warrior who embodied the essence of light?"

Ashoka beamed brightly to her daughter who laid her head against her mothers' shoulder. "Again?" Morai nodded excitedly. "Alright then." Ahsoka took a moment to think of where the story last left off. "Ashla knew that she couldn't stay in her ivory temple any longer she had to leave behind everything she had ever know. Her friends and most of all her guide who had taught her all her knowledge begged her not to leave, yet for the good of herself she had to." The loving mother laid her daughter on her sleeping mat, pulling the covers up around her.

The room was painted a soft purple that was gentle on the eyes. Yellow shooting stars shot across the room. Small woven rugs laid on the floor and a small fan spun on top of a desk to keep the room cool at night. Mand made stuffed animals of various species filled the shelves along with a wide assortment of maps and star charts, model ships spun on a mobile that hung from the ceiling and a perfect sized dresser held her many clothes and shoes. Ninee was doing her best to straighten up the room as best she could. "She was very alone for most of the time before she met her friend from the sky who desired to be as free as she did. Who was unbound to the laws of the world but chose to see the good and wonder that it held? She made friends…and fell in love. She rejected the call to war in order to have a future of her own with those and the man she loved."

Morai's eyes grew in anticipation. "Then what happened?"

"Another time little one." Tano kissed her daughter's forehead. "Now it is time to sleep." Ahsoka pulled the shades down over the bedroom window and made sure the fan was plugged into a low setting. "I love you Morai."

"I love you too mommy." The small child murmured before drifting off into her dreams. Ahsoka patted Ninee's head softly, making sure that the Droid knew to watch over Morai while she slept. the little droid was more than happy to help. Morai waited until she was sure her mother was far away enough to jump out of bed and practice her new abilities on Ninee. Even though her parents didn't know Morai was able to lift objects much bigger than Ninee. The young girl had no idea what this mysterious ability that could make her lift objects with the wave of her hand was, but she knew it made her special. Ahsoka made her way quietly down the stairs of her home where Reese was waiting for her.

"She's fast asleep."

"What a relief." Reese sighed resting in a wicker chair in the living room. He motioned for his wife to join him, she, of course, didn't hesitate. Reese didn't know how, but he could tell that something was troubling his partner. She appeared distracted, appeared to be looking for something far beyond their home. "What is it?"

She shut her eyes firmly as her lip quivered, contemplating how to properly say what she wanted to say "Something is calling to me" Why would she need to return? There was no need, the universe was no longer at war, what needed to be done?

Reese gave her a confused look at first but knew exactly what to say. "Tell me what I need to do." Ahsoka stared at him in bewilderment. She had never felt so undeserving of him, who else could she have been with who would have followed her to the ends of the galaxy no matter the risk or the fear? Only he could because that is what real love was between Ahsoka Tano and Reese Ayleen, pure devotion. Ahsoka knew exactly who she needed to find and where she needed to go to find her.

"We go to Lothal." She replied getting to her feet with her husband. "But first we celebrate with our friends and family, the beginning of a wonderful year." Ahsoka knew to never be afraid of any conflict for she had the greatest people in the galaxy standing with her every step of the way. She had stayed away from conflict for many years, but now was the time to return for she felt something that needed to be understood, the unknown was calling to her. Ahsoka never got involved with anything just for the sake of it. But this...whatever it was desperately needed someone much more than a Jedi.


End file.
